A Self-existent Being Named God

Each human, at some point in his life, will inevitably ask the question of “why there is something rather than nothing?” As he goes about life, attempting to answer this inquiry, his engrained sense of causality follows him and forces him to see that there is a source and reason for each effect (Sproul, 1992). However, during this faced-paced environment, many people have jettisoned all rational thinking and have settled only for that which can be proven empirically, tested scientifically, and verified materially. Eric Metaxas, in his book Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God, noted, “Our culture is so obsessed with the physical and the material that we have lost the ability to think logically about anything outside that realm. (p. 4)” Fortunately, Christians have the source to answer the sincere questions concerning our provenance and purpose. Since there exists something rather than nothing, and the evidence points to a self-existent, eternal being, Christians should be confident in defending truth and proudly share their faith with others.

The Necessary Existence of Something

             The obvious answer to the question above is that if anything exists, there is somebody (or something) transcendent to the material world, who exists independently and eternally. In other words, if anything exists, God exists (Sproul, 2003). This succinct, logical deduction may seem oversimplified and superfluous, but many skeptics repudiate this inference and argue that everything is just an illusion, not reality. Although this position would appear to be held only by unserious, unlearned individuals, several notable intellectuals have believed in it, including Albert Einstein. He stated, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” On the other hand, Rene Descartes argued against the validity of this position. Attempting to confront the skepticism of his day, he formulated a basic argument to defend his existence: “I think; therefore I am.” Fortunately, his conclusion succeeded in defeating the notion of all reality being an illusion (Sproul, 2003). Therefore, because something exists, there must exist that which brought the universe into being. Christians maintain that this being is the God of the Bible and should be adequately prepared to explain why he is the necessary being.

A Self-existent Being

            Some agnostics will scoff at the notion of a self-existent being. However, the concept of self-existence contradicts no law of reason or logic and is in complete harmony with the operations of the universe. Although it is impossible for a created thing to be self-existent, it is entirely possible for an eternal being to be self-existent (Sproul, 1992). In actuality, the existence of a self-existent being is both rationally and ontologically necessary. Its existence is rationally necessary, in that, if anything exists at this present moment, something exists which has the power of being within itself. If there was a time when nothing existed, nothing could be now, for this would imply that something arose from nothing (self-creation or spontaneous creation), which violates the principle of ex nihilo nihil fit: “out of nothing, nothing can come” (Sproul, 2003). Also, the existence of this supreme being is ontologically necessary, in that he exists eternally by the necessity of his very nature. Unlike humans, whose being is derived and existence is dependent, he has the power of being within himself and cannot not be (Groothuis, 2011). A. W. Tozer concluded, “For this reason the self-existence of God is not a wisp of dry doctrine, academic and remote; it is in fact as near as our breath and as practical as the latest surgical technique.” Wherefore, since the existence of God is so easily discerned and exceedingly necessary, Christians ought not shy away from any challenging dissenters but strive to dogmatically defend the uncompromising Word of God.

A Self-existent Universe

            However, there are some philosophers and scientists who grant that something is eternal and self-existent, but deny that this something is a being and argue that the something is the universe. Apparently, a “point of singularity” contained all matter and energy in the universe, existed eternally, and eventually exploded, creating the stars, galaxies, planets, and so forth (Sproul, 2003). However, the concept of a self-existent, eternal universe violates philosophical axioms as well as scientific truths. In 1929, while peering through the lens of a high-powered telescope, Edwin Hubble noticed an unusual phenomenon: the light from distant galaxies appeared redder than it should have. The manifest conclusion ascertained from this startling discovery was that the universe was, indeed, growing apart and expanding equally in all directions. This revelation sent a shockwave throughout the scientific community, for it implied that the universe was not eternal; rather, it had a beginning, being created out of nothing by some very powerful person, outside of time, space, and matter (Craig, 1984). Furthermore, the possibility of an eternal, self-existent universe is nonsensical and contradicts the idea of infinity. William Lane Craig, an eminent Christian apologist, offered this argument in dealing with the universe’s being eternal: “An actually infinite number of things cannot exist. Because an actually infinite number of things cannot exist, then an actually infinite number of past events cannot exist. Since the history of the universe is identical to the series of all past events, the universe must have begun to exist.” Thus, the position of an eternal, self-existent universe is untenable and not worthy of advocacy. As the careful observer would note, the evidence points powerfully to a self-existent, eternal being rather than a self-existent, eternal universe. Therefore, Christians should rejoice that they have not placed their faith in an erroneous dogma and rise to the challenge of protecting the self-existent being named God.

References

Albert Einstein. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins100298.html

Craig, William Lane (1984). Reasonable Faith. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books.

Groothuis, Douglas (2011). Christian Apologetics. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press.

Metaxas, Eric (2005). Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God. Colorado Springs, Colorado: WaterBrook Press.

Sproul, R. C. (2003). Defending the Truth. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.

Sproul, R. C. (1992). Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.

Tozer, A. W. (1961). The Knowledge of the Holy. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers.